Work-Family Conflict During the Pandemic—
Induced State of Emergency in Serbia:
The Female Perspective
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Publication date: 2021-12-14
Polish Sociological Review 2021;216(4):553-570
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ABSTRACT
Work-family conflict (WFC) has major consequences for both work and personal life outcomes,
especially for women. The COVID-19 pandemic has set the stage for deepening the already existing gender
gaps, especially in the semi-peripheral societies, such as Serbia. We argue that working from home during the
pandemic-induced state of emergency aggravated the WFC among working women. To collect data, we applied
mixed research plan on a sample of 265 women. Results showed that women who worked from home experienced
a greater WFC than usual since they had to play professional and family roles simultaneously. Being a sort
of social crises, COVID-19 pandemic and state of emergency led to over-exploitation of female resources and
instrumentalization of family relations. Furthermore, the intensity of the WFC was shaped by both women’s
personal characteristics and their family/household’s features.